Murray Cod Season Opener

Murray Cod Season Opener - Central West, NSW

In my local waters, I have a new favourite fish to chase on fly – Murray Cod.

On December 1st I could once again enjoy the explosive surface hits from this stunning fish – and it couldn’t come soon enough.

Murray Cod have a special aura about them. Despite the challenges of catching this beautiful fish, they offer enough rewards to keep me coming back for more.

This year we expanded our guiding options to include Central-West native fish and we’ve enjoyed a great start. With many more Murray Cod and Yellow Belly in the Macquarie River than previous years, the results are positive. And on the rare occasion things are slow, there many large willing Carp to pass the time.

Cod’s Country at sunrise

Jack Mann with a beast river cod

Hugh marvelling at his first sight of a Murray Cod

Ross Kramer claiming his first Murray Cod on fly

Hugh hooked up in some tight water

Golden Perch on a large 6/0 cod fly

Hugh, one of my most recent clients, came out for a Cod session in early December. After a slower start to the day, Hugh found himself connected to a very large fish. Having successfully pulled it from its snag, I assumed the fight was over. But, one jump onto a ledge below to land the fish, and Hugh stumbled and dropped his rod. The line tension was lost and we said goodbye to that giant Cod monster – that fish may haunt us for some time.

A stunning little cod to get the day started

Hugh stoked with his first carp on fly

Outside of guiding clients, I was keen get out on the water and throw some flies myself. Luckily, after a few trips, several nice fish on the board and some very close encounters with large fish, my longing had been satisfied. I also managed to land my first Yellow belly from the river.

Another stunner on the board

A beautiful Murray Cod

My first golden perch from the river

With a great start to the season, I can’t wait to get back on the water for more Murray Cod very soon.

Gear Requirements:

ROD – We are using 9 and 10 weight rods to chase Murray Cod, the larger rods help cast the large flies, and muscle the fish from snags when needed.

LINE – Fly line is very important when chasing Cod. A line that carries a heavy fly and gets you on the water with minimal casts such as the RIO Outbound Short series is perfect! The F/I (Floating Intermediate) in the tropical version has been our most used line – Sinks enough when needed, and still fine to use for surface poppers.

REEL – Reel is not so important, Cod will fight their way back to the structure they came from, but don’t make blinding runs that require extreme drag.

LEADER – Leader depends on the amount of structure present. 15-25 pounds at around 4-6 foot is what I use.